Did you know that 50% of all cell phone plans are family and share plans? These plans often prove to be more cost-effective for families and groups of people hoping to apply for a mobile plan. It’s a good thing there are comparison engines like CompareMyRates.ca. This makes the comparison process easier, something that used to be extremely challenging to do.

The challenges in comparing these cell phone plans are not surprising at all. Each of these mobile plans offer different combinations. They all offer a variety of handsets as well. Some handsets are even exclusive to specific carriers. With all these elements to consider, CompareMyRates.ca becomes a great ally to find out what fits your specific needs.

Why Go for a Family Plan?

What’s so special about a family plan? Why would a shared plan be a better choice than having each of you pay for your own plans?

Here are some of the biggest benefits of opting for a family plan instead of a bunch of individual ones:

Discounts for multiple lines

You probably know that buying retail is often more expensive than buying wholesale. The same principle is at work when you go for a family plan instead of a number of individual plans. Carriers always offer better deals the more lines you add into the bundle.

Simplified billing

This is especially convenient if the head of the family is the only one paying for everybody’s bill. It’s also possible that you would rather have a single person take charge of getting everyone’s share and paying for the bill. Either way, a family plan gives you a single billing statement instead of a number of different ones. This makes your budgeting and bill-paying a less complicated process.

Easier processing

One thing that hinders people from getting a cell phone plan is the credit check. Some carriers prove to be stricter than others when it comes to this. The great thing about a family plan is the fact that only the principal account holder is required to pass the credit check. This makes it easier for everyone else to get their own lines even if their credit backgrounds are far from satisfactory.

Cost-wise, family plans are the better choice because of the bulk discounts. Process-wise, they are also better.

Shared Data vs Fixed Data Family Plans

Now that you’ve decided that a family plan is the better option, it’s time to decide what kind of plan you need. Among the biggest choices you have to make is the kind of data allocation. Would you rather have a shared data family plan, or a fixed data family plan?

Here’s the difference between the two:

Shared Data Family Plan

Under a shared data family plan, a single data allowance is shared across all lines in the plan. Let’s say you’re given a 6GB limit for all three lines in your plan. This means that you will have to share this 6GB allowance with the two other people included in the plan.

What happens if you use up all 6GB? The data connection for all three lines will either slow down to a crawl, or will be stopped. This depends on the carrier.

Fixed Data Family Plan

Under a fixed data family plan, each line is given a specific limit. Let’s say you’re given a 6GB limit for all three lines in your plan. This means that each line is allowed to use up to 2GB. That’s 6GB divided among three lines.

What happens if you use up the 2GB allotment? This means that your data will either slow down to a crawl or stop completely. However, the two other lines in the plan will not be affected.

Which is better? A shared family plan, or a fixed family plan? This actually depends. If one of you uses more data than anybody else, then there’s a chance that this person will only eat up everybody else’s data under a shared plan. It’s probably a good idea to assess how much data each person uses on a regular basis. This should help guide your decision.

Other Facts You Need to Know When Choosing Family Phone Plans in Canada

Here are a few other tidbits that will help you decide what kind of family plan to go for:

Some shared plans allow you to set data limits.

Yup, that’s right! If you’re the main account holder and are afraid everybody else will use up all the data, some carriers actually allow you to set data limits on each line. This means that you won’t have to worry about waking up one day with zero data allowance left in the account.

Some plans have unbelievable prices but with fewer features.

Don’t be too excited when you see a family plan being offered at an unbelievable price. Great deals are not just about the price – it’s also about the inclusions. What use would you have for a cheap plan if the inclusions do not cover your needs?

So the next time you see a family plan, don’t just look at the pricing. Make sure you look at every single detail on that fine print. It’s better to take some time in looking at the smallest details than paying for something that you won’t be able to use to your satisfaction.

Auto payment offers bigger savings.

Carriers appreciate it when they know you’ll be sticking to your plan month after month. This is why they often offer amazing discounts if you activate the auto-renew option. You can get discounts of around $5 each month, which is definitely not bad at all.

Don’t forget about these small facts before deciding on a family plan. Use these to your advantage to make sure you get the kind of service you need at a price you can afford.

Best Family and Share Plans in the (Canadian) Market

To get you started on your decision-making process, here are a few family plans you might want to consider depending on what you think is important.

More Options?

Bell Share Plans would be perfect for those who want a lot of options. It allows you to choose the handset, the data allowance, and the voice allocation that you want to go with your plan.

What makes it even better is the fact that you get up to $10 savings for every additional family member that you add to the plan. Some of the most popular inclusions to this is the $55/month unlimited voice calls to anywhere in Canada, and the 1GB shareable data.

More Data and Better Customization?

Rogers Share Everything Plans is the best out there if you want a family plan that offers a lot of data with a lot of customization options. Some of the most popular choices are 6GB for $70 a month, 10GB for $80 a month, and 15GB plus 1GB free for $95 a month. This data allowance can be shared across up to nine devices. It also comes with unlimited messaging and calling to anywhere in Canada.

Simple?

If you don’t have the patience to deal with a lot of extras, Virgin Mobile offers the most uncomplicated plans out there. You can opt for myPeeps, which bundles five lines in a single account.

Starting Small?

Telus Family Plans is perfect for small families. Simply adding a family member to an existing plan will cost you only $25 per month. For a 2-person plan with a 6GB data allowance, you only have to pay $55 a month. A 3-person plan gives you 10GB of data at only $53.33 a month. The 4-person plan is only $52.50 a month, with 15GB data allowance.

Think about what you require from your family plan. From there, you can zoom in on what meets your budget and your needs the most.

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